Nov. 30, 2013
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A spam email from 'Rolex' / Jennifer Jolly for USA TODAY

by Jennifer Jolly, Special for USA TODAY

by Jennifer Jolly, Special for USA TODAY

With the holidays upon us, many of us will be browsing virtual store shelves in search of the perfect presents. And while your mind may be focused on finding the best deal, identity thieves and other cybercriminals see distracted digital shoppers as the perfect prey. Thankfully, it's not difficult to keep from falling victim to the various dangers of online shopping, as long as you keep this list handy, and remember to check it twice.

SAVE YOUR SHOPPING FOR THE COUCH

It's tempting to jump on a public computer or use your smartphone to search for the most up-to-date deals when you're out and about, but you're actually safer when browsing at home. If you absolutely must grab a blockbuster discount via your mobile browser, make sure you're not connected to an unfamiliar Wi-Fi network. You're more secure shopping using your 3G or 4G cellular signal than any free Wi-Fi network you come across. Never enter a password or payment information into a computer you don't know.

UPDATE EVERYTHING

You should start your shopping odyssey by making sure your computer is up to date on all fronts. That includes your operating system (Windows, or OS X if you're on a Mac), your anti-virus software, and especially your Web browser. Modern browsers have built-in pop-up blockers and other security features. Updating takes just a couple of minutes in most cases and can pay off big time with a thicker layer of security.

SHOP WHERE YOU HAVE SHOPPED BEFORE

Just because a website looks professional doesn't mean it can be trusted. If you see links on Twitter or Facebook to a website you've never heard of - and especially if that website is offering suspiciously good deals - you should avoid it like the plague. Scammers will go through great pains to make their online presence seem legit, so if you see something that looks too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

'S' = SECURITY

Believe it or not, your favorite shopping sites may not be securely hiding your personal information when you purchase something online. There are a lot of different ways to make online payments these days, but one of the easiest ways to verify your card data is secure during the transfer is to look at the Web address. Most sites have addresses beginning with "http://" but you should never be plugging credit card or other payment data into these types of websites. Instead, look for pages that begin with "https://" which signifies that your payment is being encrypted. Remember, the 'S' means security.

DON'T FALL FOR FAKE E-MAILS, TWEETS OR TEXTS

Falling for a fake e-mail used to be the easiest way to end up with a compromised bank account, but these days sites like Twitter and Facebook are equally dangerous. Spam filters on most e-mail clients and social networks do a respectable job of weeding out the threats, but they're not perfect, so you need to keep a watchful eye on your interactions.

If you see an e-mail, tweet or Facebook message offering a ridiculous discount on a popular item (especially things like iPads, game consoles, Blu-ray movies, TVs and toys) the chances of it being a scam are almost 100%. Remember, you don't need to actually enter your credit card information in order to be scammed - just clicking a website link in one of those seedy messages can be enough to compromise your computer, or even your identity. Delete them (or ignore them) and don't look back.

If you receive communications from familiar retailers you've shopped with before, it's a good idea to type the Web address of the retailer into the browser rather than following any links. Scammers have been known to copy legitimate e-mails in order to lure victims into clicking a shady link. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

CREDIT CARD TIP

With identity theft becoming a major issue for credit card companies, many will not keep an eye out for suspicious transactions and alert you immediately. And even if your credit provider doesn't catch a scam ahead of time, it's often easier to reverse a credit card transaction than to attempt to fix a busted checking account. Hopefully you won't have to use this tip, but if the worst happens, this will make a fix easier to come by.

Jennifer Jolly is an Emmy Award-winning consumer tech contributor and host of USA TODAY's digital video show TECH NOW. E-mail her at techcomments@usatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JenniferJolly.